Budding and turning green
Ancient trees come to life in spring
Not long ago
Jingmai Mountain, in Lancang Lahu Autonomous County, Yunnan Province
welcomed the first spring Tea harvest of the year for its ancient tea trees.
Spring Tea from Jingmai Mountain. Photo by Li Maoying
Since the 10th century, the Bulang and Dai ethnic groups migrated to settle on Jingmai Mountain, where they discovered wild tea trees and developed a forest-based ecosystem to cultivate “forest tea,” gradually forming vast ancient tea forests.
Last September, the “Pu'er Jingmai Mountain Ancient Tea Forest Cultural Landscape” was inscribed on the World Heritage List, increasing China's number of World Heritage sites to 57.
This year's spring tea harvest is also the first after the successful nomination of the Jingmai Mountain Ancient Tea Forest Cultural Landscape as a World Heritage site.
As the world's first tea-themed World Heritage project, the element of “tea” is everywhere on Jingmai Mountain.
This spring, let us venture into Jingmai Mountain to appreciate the Beauty of this “World Tea Culture Historical and Natural Museum.”
Households on Jingmai Mountain begin picking and processing tea. Photo by Li Maoying
The mountains are lush and verdant, but there are no visible rows of tea fields; the ancient tea forests of Jingmai Mountain are not as neatly arranged as typical terrace tea fields. Only by entering the ancient tea garden can one uncover its secrets.
Stepping into the ancient tea forest of Dapingzhang on Jingmai Mountain, tall banyan and camphor trees stand guard over the ancient tea trees that grow beneath them, with a rich variety of epiphytic and parasitic plants such as stone orchids and lichens lower down. The dense ancient tea forest harbors numerous rare animals and plants.
Journalist Li Maoying picking spring tea alongside local tea farmers. Photo by Hu Zunhui
The people of Jingmai Mountain are warm and hospitable.
In the core area of the ancient tea forest at Dapingzhang, a Dai girl born in the 2000s named Xian Jin invited us to join her in picking spring tea.
Standing in the tea forest, the morning sunlight filters through the towering green trees, distributing light and nutrients cleverly across different heights. The scents of various plants blend together, infusing the tea leaves.
Sunlight filtering into the ancient tea garden on Jingmai Mountain. Photo by Li Maoying
Picking fresh leaves at random and placing them in our mouths, we experience an initial bitterness followed by a sweet aftertaste. Xian Jin taught us a new way to “eat” tea: she took a bottle of water and immersed the freshly picked leaves inside. “This is our refreshing drink after a day's work,” she said with a smile.
Throughout the tea forest, local tea farmers bustle about, their agile figures weaving through the trees as they carefully pick leaves without harming the ancient tea trees. Villagers have been picking tea for generations, and some of the ancient tea trees reach several meters in height, requiring ladders to harvest them.
Xian Jin picking spring tea from ancient trees on Jingmai Mountain. Photo by Hu Zunhui
“No chemical fertilizers or pesticides may be used” and “Destructive picking is strictly prohibited” are among the self-imposed protective measures written into village rules and regulations. To protect the ancient tea trees, the local government has enacted more than 20 sets of regulations and rules specifically targeting the protection of ancient tea forests, including the “Regulations on the Protection of Ancient Tea Tree Resources in Pu'er City” and the “Implementation Measures for the Protection Regulations of Jingmai Mountain, Lancang Lahu Autonomous County, Yunnan Province.”
Households on Jingmai Mountain begin picking and processing tea. Photo by Li Maoying
Today, the tea industry has become a vital pillar of Lancang County's economy. In 2023, the total area of ancient and modern tea gardens in Lancang County reached 436,000 mu (about 29,066 hectares), producing a total of 34,400 tons of dried tea, with a comprehensive output value of 7.65 billion yuan, and average income per tea farmer exceeding 8,000 yuan. In 2024, it is estimated that the production of dried tea will reach 35,000 tons, with a comprehensive output value exceeding 8 billion yuan.
The ancient tea from Jingmai has a strong mountain aroma,
and nature has bestowed upon it a unique Orchid Honey fragrance.
On Jingmai Mountain,
spring is in full swing.
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